Leather blackening and seasoning machine.



No. 880,859. PATENTED MAR. 3, I908.

. O. P. BOSSERT.

LEATHER BLAGKENING AND SEASONING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR.11, 1907.

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PATENTED MAR. 3, 1908. P. BOSSERT.

LEATHER BLAGKENING AND SBASONING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED .APR.11, 1907.

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' PATENTED MAR. 3, 1908, 0. P. BOSSERT. LEATHER BLAOKBNING AND SEASONINGMACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 11, 1907.

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THE NORRIS EETERS cm, wAsHmGmmrc y PATENTED MAR. s, 1908, 0. P.BOSSBRT.

LEATHER BLAGKENING AND SEASONING MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED APE.11, 1907.

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UNITED STATES A @FFIQE.

CHARLES P. BOSSERT, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO PFISTER & VOGELLEATHER COMPANY.

LEATHER BLAGKENING AND SEASONING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 3, 1908.

Application filed April 11 1907. Serial No. 367.501.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES P. BOSSERT, of Milwaukee, WVisconsin, haveinvented a Leather Blackening and Seasoning Machine, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention consists of a machine for treating leather in thoseprocesses which require the application to the surface thereof of aliquid or fluid composition; more particularly in blackening, seasoningand washing the leather.

My invention has relation to that type of machine wherein the leather ispassed through the machine on the surface of a rotating carrying-roll,against which pass a set of brushes which are supplied with a liquid orfluid composition which is to be applied to the surface of the leather.In this operation, the leather being of irregular shape naturally coversonly a portion of the surface of the carrying-roll, and the balance ofits surface therefore becomes smeared with the composition from thebrushes, and if not removed would become likewise smeared upon the underside of the next side of leather passed through the machine, which underside is not to be treated with the composition. It is thereforenecessary in these machines to apply wiping devices to the surface ofthe carrying-roll at a point in advance of that of which the sides ofleather are laid upon it, so as to remove all of the composition smearedupon the roll in connection with treating one piece of leather, beforethe next piece is passed through. To effect this operation a barextending the entire length of the roll and having a rubber plateprojecting edgewise therefrom against the roll was employed, but theoperation of this device was very defective. It has been foundimpossible to so adjust the rubber as to press at all points upon theroll with equal force, so that even when very great pressure was usedsome of the composition passed by the wiper and was left lying instreaks upon the carrying-roll. This was due not simply to the lack ofperfectly uniform pressure at all points of the wiper, as well as to theuneven and possibly not truly circular surface of the roll, but also andespecially to the fact that no means were provided for carrying away theexcess of composition removed by the wiper, and it therefore collectedin considerable quantities on the forward edge of the wiper and wasnecessarily forced through.

The result has been not simply that the wiping action was verydefective, but also that a large amount of power was used andconsiderable wear incurred by the excessive pressure which it wasnecessary to use with the wiper against the roll.

It is the main object of the present invention to eliminate thesedifliculties by providing novel wiping devices which with a minimum ofpressure against the roll shall completely remove all adhering materialtherefrom, and further convey away all the wipedoff material as fast asit is removed from the surface of the roll and prevent it fromaccumulating at the edge of the wiper.

In my new machine I dispense with the old wiper-bar carrying a singlecontinuous wiper, and provide instead thereof a wipershaft on which aremounted a plurality of small individual wipers which act upon a smallsection only of the length of the roll, and each wiper is individuallymounted on the shaft and is pressed against the carryingroll with aresilient or spring pressure which is individually adjustable so as tosecure the exact pressure needed upon that particular section of theroll length. The individual wipers overlap one another, and each is madeconcave on the advance side whereby it tends to collect all the materialwiped from the roll at the center of the Wiper, at which point it runsdown the wiper-shank and drips into a pan or other receptacle providedfor that purpose.

In the most improved form of the machine I also provide the wiper-sh aftitself with adj usting means whereby all the wipers together may bepressed against the carrying-roll by oscillating the shaft, or on theother hand when the shaft is released it can be turned so that all ofthe wipers are thrown back into a position in which they can be cleaned.

My invention will be best understood from a consideration of theaccompanying descrip tion and drawings of one embodiment thereof.

In these drawings, Figure 1 is a left side elevation of the completemachine, Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the machine, the feeding-intable being removed to better illustrate the remaining parts, Fig. 3 isa central transverse section of the machine, Fig. 4 is a longitudinalcentral section through one of the wipers, Fig. 5 is a perspective viewof the spring abutment for one of the wipers, Fig. 6 is a perspectiveView of one of the wipers,

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the screw-pin used in connection withthe wipers, Fig. 8 is a plan view of one of the rubbers.

In these drawings every reference letter and numeral refers always tothe same part.

The frame of the machine is made up of two end frames 11, twolongitudinal X.- shaped members 12 and 13 connecting them, and alongitudinal bolting rod 14 at the top also connecting the frames. Onthe end. frames 1.1 are mounted bearings 15 in which is j ournaled themain driving-shaft 16 carrying fast and loose pulleys 17 and 18 by whichit is driven, and other pulleys 19 and 20 which serve to drive theoperative parts of the machine. The left-hand end. of the shaft 16 inFig. 2 is shown as broken away in Fig. 2 as it would ordinarily besupported by an outboard bearing or pedestal, which is also omitted fromFig. 1 as it would obscure the other parts.

A leather-carrying roll consisting of a large drum 21, ordinarilysurfaced with copper, is supported on a shaft or aXle 22, which isjournaled in bearings 23 mounted on the end-frames 1.1, and theright-hand end of the shaft 22 carries a large gear-wheel 24. Thegearwheel 24 meshes with a pinion 25 formed on a short sleeve 26 whichturns on a stubshaft 26 on the frame 11 and carries a pullev 27 thislatter being connected by a belt 28 with the pulley 20, by which it isdriven. The belt 28 is held up to the proper tightness by means of atightener pulley 29 mounted on the end of a pivoted arm 30 j ournaled ona pin 31 on the frame 11, the pulley 29 resting against the belt 28 bygravity, which is assisted by the tension of a coiled spring 32 inconnection with the arm 30 as clearly shown in Fig. 3, which spring hasits lower end passing through a hole in a bracket-lug 33 of the frame 11and threaded for the application of a nut 34, whereby the tension of thespring is adjusted. Above the carrying roll 21 are -mounted two rotarybrushes 35, 36, which are provided with gudgeons 37 journaled inbearing-blocks 38, which latter slide vertically in slots 39 provided inposts 40, the bearing-blocks 38 being adjustable by means of screws 41having capstan heads 42, and

the bearing-blocks are clamped in their adjusted position by means ofclamping nuts 43. This adjustment is desirable to give the brushes 35,36 the required pressure upon the surface of the leather and provide forwear of the surface of the brushes. At the left-hand end the gudgeons 37are extended beyond the bearing-blocks 38 and carry over-hung pulleys44, which are connected with the driving pulley 19 by means of a belt45. To secure the necessary are of contact of the belt 45 upon thepulleys 44 and also for tightening the belt, the latter passes around atightener pulley 46 which is mounted upon a stubshaft 47, this latterbeing formed on a block 48, which slides in an upright slot 49 in theend-frame and the block 48 is drawn downwardly to tighten the belt bymeans of an adjusting-screw 50 which is provided with a capstan head 51.

The liquid or composition to be applied to the leather is contained in apan or reservoir 52 and delivered therefrom to the brush 35 by means ofan intermediary feed-roll 53. This liquid feed-roll is given a slowrotative motion by the means hereinafter described, in the direction ofthe arrow (Fig. 1) and dipping into the pan 52 becomes covered with thecomposition or liquid, which is thereby conveyed to the brush 35, thelatter wiping off said liquid and throwing it in a spray upon thesurface of the leather, subsequently to which the leather passes underthe brush and the composition is then rubbed in or distributed. therebyupon the surface of the leather. The roll 53 is provided with gudgeons54 journaled in bearing-blocks 55 which slide longitudinally upon abracket 56 projecting from the upper part of the endframe 1].. As in thecase of the other bearings previously described the bearing-blocks 55are adjustable forwardly and backwardly by means of a capstan-headedscrew 57 and are clamped in their adjusted position by nuts 58. The panor reservoir 52 is secured upon lateral ears 59 formed on theslidingblocks 55, and thereby moves forward and back with the feed-roll53. The right-hand gudgeon 54 is also extended and has mounted thereon asprocket-wheel 60 connected by a chain 61 with a sprocket-wheel 62 onthe end of the axle 22, thereby giving a slow motion to the feed-rollfrom the shaft of the carrying-roll.

To prevent undue spattering of the composition I may provide a shield orcover 63 which is mounted on the bolt-rod 14 and covers the brushes 35,36; the rear side of said cover having a trough 64 formed thereon whichis to catch and hold such composition as may be thrown upon the cover bythe brush 36.

A wooden apron or table 65 is provided at the infeed or front of themachine, this apron or table being supported by brackets 66 and havingpreferably at its front edge a roller 67 for greater ease inmanipulating the leather. Immediately below this apron or table aremounted wipers 68 which, as heretofore remarked, constitute one of themost important elements of my invention. These wipers are mounted uponthe wipershaft 69 which is journaled in bearing lugs 70 in theend-frames 11. these wipers are so arranged that their ends overlap eachother whereby any possible streak of material left by the right-hand endof one wiper is taken up and removed by the lefthand end of the adjacentwiper.

Each wiper comprises a sleeve 7 1. turning As shown clearly in Fig. 2

loosely on the shaft 69; an upright arm 7 2,

and a curved flange 73 transverse to the arm 72 andv having a generaldirection parallel to the axis of the carrying-roll 21, but yet having acurvature such as to present a concave surface from below. To the flange73 is secured a rubber 74, which is preferably made from a piece ofrubber sheeting of the shape shown in Fig. 8, the active edge 75 thereofbeing so shaped as to conform to the surface of the roll 21 at allpoints, as clearly shown in Fig. 4. This rubber is secured to the flange73 by means of a curved plate 76 overlying the rubber, and screws 77.The means for pressing the wiper 68 against the roll 21 consist of ascrew-pin 78, one end 79 of which is threaded into a hole 80 in thewiper 68; a coiled compression spring 81 surrounding said pin andabutting at one end upon a flange-collar 82 thereof; and an abutmentpiece 83 for the opposite end of the spring 81, said abutment piececomprising a sleeve 84 fitting on the shaft 69, an upright arm 85 havinga notch 86 at its upper end to receive the screw-pin 78, and a set-screw37 mounted in a threaded boss 88, whereby the abutment piece 83 isclamped in any position upon the shaft 69. A washer 89 is providedbetween the end of the spring 8] and the slotted end of the abutmentpiece 83. It will be seen that the spring 8], reacting against theabutment piece 83, gives a resilient pressure against the drum 21 to theend of the wiper 68. This pressure may be adjusted in two ways, that is,either by rotating the abutment piece 83 upon the shaft 69 (afterloosening the set-screw S7) or secondly, by turning the screw-pin 7 8 inthe threaded hole 80, which is done by means of the projecting squaredends 90 formed on the screwpins, and this latter means of adjustment isemployed to obtain the exact desired pressure after the latter has beenroughly fixed by properly positioning the abutment piece.

As the surface of the drum 21 moves upwardly toward the concave surfaceof the rubber 74, the material spread thereupon is wiped ofl and carriedtoward the center of the rubber, at which point it collects upon andflows down the arm 72 of the wiper.

To prevent possible endwise movement of the wipers there is provided forthose which are intermediate and have no other lateral abutment athrust-collar 91 secured in place upon the shaft 69 by a set-screw 92.The abutment piece 83 at the left-hand end is necessarily placed on theopposite side of its wiper 68 from the abutment pieces of the otherwipers, and therefore has its arm 85 bent in the opposite direction.

The arrangement as thus far described provides for the individualadjustment of each wiper, whereby a full and uniform pressure may beobtained at all points of the drum, but I also may provide for theadjustment of the wipers as a whole, and this arrangement consists of anarm 93 at one end of the wiper-shaft (see Fig. 1) or if desired, a pairof arms at its opposite ends. The arm or arms 93 have a ring-collar 94which fits over the projecting end of the shaft 69 and is fixed theretoby means of a diametral pin 95 which passes through a hole in both. Thefree end of the arm 93 is perforated by a hole through which passes ascrew-rod 96, the screwed end of which passes through a hole in thefront edge of the end-frame 11 and has mounted thereon a hand-nut 97. Itis obvious that by rotating the hand-nut 97 the arm 93 is moved forwardor back and the shaft 69 oscillated so that all the wipers in unison aremoved toward and from the carrying-drum as may be desired. If desired toclean the wipers, the hand-nut 97 is loosened sufficiently to enable thepin 95 to be withdrawn, whereupon the wipers as a whole may be thrownback so as to present their active edges in front, and after thecleaning operation they are readily replaced in position, the pin 95being reinserted in place.

While I herein describe the most improved form of my invention, thelatter is not necessarily confined to all the improvements or to theexact form described, as it is obvious that the form and arrangement ofthe parts i may be varied to some extent without departing from theprinciple of my invention, and I wish it understood therefore that myinvention includes all such modifications or variations so far as theylie within the scope of my claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination of a rotating carry ing-drum, means for distributinga fluid composition upon the surface thereof or of a sheet of materialcarried thereby, a shaft parallel and adjacent to said drum, a wiperrotatably mounted on said shaft, an abut ment fixed on said shaft, and aspring compressed between said abutment and said wiper and pressing thelatter resiliently against said drum.

2. The combination of a rotating carryingdrum, means for distributing afluid composition upon the surface of said drum or of a sheet ofmaterial carried thereby, a shaft parallel and adjacent to said drum, awiper pivotally mounted on said shaft, an abutment rotatable upon saidshaft, means for clamping said abutment in any position on said shaft,and a compression spring between said abutment and said wiper wherebythe latter is pressed against said drum.

3. The combination of a rotating carryingdrum, means for distributing afluid composition upon the surface of said drum or of the sheet ofmaterial carried thereby, a shaft parallel and adjacent to said drum, awiper pivotally mounted on said shaft, an abutment rotatable upon saidshaft, means for clamping said abutment in any position on said shaft, acompressed spring between said abutment and said wiper whereby thelatter is pressed against said drum, and means for separately adjustingthe compressive force of said spring.

4. The combination of a rotating carryingdrum, means for distributing afluid composition upon the surface of said drum or of a sheet ofmaterial carried thereby, a shaft parallel and adjacent to said drum,awiper pivotally mounted on said shaft, an abutment rotatable upon saidshaft means for clamping said abutment in any position on said shaft, acompressed spring between said abutment and said wiper whereby thelatter is pressed against said drum, a screw-pin threaded into one ofsaid members between which the spring acts and having an abutment forone end of said spring, and means for rotating said pin whereby theforce of said spring is varied.

5. In combination with a rotary drum, meansfor removing a coating ofliquid or composition from the surface thereof comprising a curvedmember pressing against the surface of said drum, the curvature of saidmember being such as to present a concave collecting surface to theadvancing part of the surface of said drum.

6. In combination with a rotary drum, a wiper adapted to remove a liquidor fluid composition from the surface thereof comprising a curved plateset edgewise to the surface of said drum and having its curvatureconcave to the advancing part of the surface whereby to collect at anintermediate point of said wiper a liquid or composition removed fromthe surface of said drum, and means for pressing said wiper against thedrum.

7. In combination with a rotary drum, a shaft mounted adjacent andparallel thereto, and a wiper pivotally mounted on said shaft and havinga curved active edge pressing upon the surface of said drum and set totrail thereon at a distance behind said shaft, said active edge having acurvature face is caused to collect at an intermediate point of saidedge, and means for pressing said wiper against the surface of saiddrum.

8. In combination with a rotary drum, a plurality of individual wipersadapted to remove a liquid or fluid composition from the surface of saiddrum, said wipers being arranged in series each slightly overlapping theadjacent one and each acting upon a portion of the length of said'drum.

9. In combination with a rotary drum,

means for removing a liquid or fluid composition from the surfacethereof, said means comprising a plurality of individual Wipers arrangedin series each acting on a portion of the length of said drum andslightly over lapping, and means for resiliently pressing said wipersagainst said drum.

10. In combination with a rotary drum, means for removing a liquid orfluid composition from the surface thereof, said means comprising aplurality of individual wipers each acting on a separate portion of thelength of said drum and collecting a composition therefrom, each wiperconsisting of a curved surface concave to the advancing surface of thedrum, whereby all of said composition removed by the wiper is collectedat an intermediate point of the surface thereof.

11. The combination of a rotary drum and means for removing a liquid orfluid composition from the surface thereof, said means comprising aplurality of individual wipers arranged in a series along the length ofsaid drum, each wiper acting on its separate portion of the length ofsaid drum and having an active edge which presents a concave surface tothe advancing surface of the drum, and means for resiliently pressingeach of said wipers individually against said drum.

12. The combination of a rotary drum and means for removing a liquid orfluid composition from the surface thereof, said means comprising aplurality of individual wipers arranged in a series along the length ofsaid drum, each wiper acting on its separate portion of the length ofsaid drum and having an active edge which presents a concave surface tothe advancing surface of the drum, a plurality of springs actingresiliently upon the several respective wipers to press them against thesurface of said drum, and means for adjusting the individual pressure ofthe several springs.

13 The combination of a rotary drum and means for removing a liquid orfluid composition from the surface thereof, said means comprising aplurality of individual wipers arranged in a series along the length ofsaid drum, each wiper acting on its separate portion of the length ofsaid drum and having an active edge which presents a concave surface tothe advancing surface of the drum, means for resiliently pressing eachof said wipers individually against the drum, and means forsimultaneously acting on all said wipers to press them against or removethem from said drum.

14. In combination with a rotary drum, means for removing a liquid orfluid composition from the surface thereof, said means comprising ashaft mounted parallel and adjacent to said drum, a plurality ofindividual wipers pivotally mounted on said shaft and each having anactive edge trailing behind said shaft upon the surface of I said drum,and means for rotating said shaft whereby all of said wipers aresimultaneously moved towards or from said drum,

15. In combination with a rotary drum. means for removing a liquid orfluid com. position from the surface thereof, said means comprising ashaft mounted parallel and adjacent to said drum, a plurality of wiperspivotally mounted on said shaft and having an active edge trailingbehind said shaft against the surface of said drum, resilient meansbetween said shaft and said wipers, and means for partially rotatingsaid shaft.

16. In combination with a rotary shaft, means for removing a liquid orfluid composition from the surface thereof, said means comprising ashaft mounted parallel and adjacent to said drum, a plurality ofindividual wipers mounted on said shaft and each acting on a separateportion of the length of said drum, each of said wipers having an activeedge trailing behind said shaft upon the surface of said drum, aplurality of spring-abutments adjustably secured to said shaft, aplurality of springs acting between said abutments and said wipers, andmeans-for partially rotating said shaft whereby said wipers are pressedtoward or removed from said drum as a whole.

17. In combination with a rotary drum, means for removing a liquid orfluid composition from the surface thereof, said means comprising ashaft mounted parallel and adjacent to said drum, a plurality of wiperspivotally mounted on said shaft and having an active edge trailingbehind said shaft against the surface of said drum, resilient meansbetween said shaft and said wipers, and means for partially rotatingsaid shaft; each of said wipers having a curved surface concave to theadvancing portions of said drum, whereby the liquid or compositionremoved by the wiper collects at an'intermediate point of the activeedge of said Wiper.

18. In combination with a rotary drum, means for removing a liquid orfluid composition from the surface thereof, said means comprising ashaft mounted parallel and adj acent to said drum, an arm mounted onsaid shaft, means connected with the end of said arm for adjustablymoving it through a certain angle whereby the position of said shaft isvaried or adj usted, a plurality of individual wipers pivotally mountedon said shaft and each having an active edge trailing behind said shaftagainst the surface of said drum, each wiper acting upon its individualportion of the length of said drum, and said wipers slightlyoverlapping, a plurality of abutments mounted on said shaft adjacent tothe several wipers, and a plurality of springs between said abutmentsand said wipers.

19. In combination with a rotary drum,

means for removing a liquid or fluid composition from the surfacethereof, said means comprising a shaft mounted parallel and adj acent tosaid drum, an arm mounted on said shaft, means connected with the end ofsaid arm for adjustably moving it through a certain angle whereby theposition of said shaft is varied or adjusted, a plurality of individualwipers pivotally mounted on said shaft and each having an active edgetrailing behind said shaft against the surface of said drum, each wiperacting upon its individual portion of the length of said drum, and saidwipers slightly overlapping, a plurality of abutments mounted on saidshaft adjacent to the several wipers, a plurality of springs betweensaid abutments and said wipers, and means for adjusting the pressure ofthe individual springs separately.

20. In combination with a rotary drum, means for removing a liquid orfluid composition from the surface thereof, said means comprising ashaft mounted parallel and ad j acent to said drum, an arm mounted onsaid shaft, means connected with the end of said arm for adjustablymoving it through a certain angle whereby the position of said shaft isvaried or adjusted, a plurality of individual wipers pivotally mountedon said shaft and each having an active edge trailing behind said shaftagainst the surface of said drum, each wiper acting upon its individualportion of the length of said drum, and said wipers slightlyoverlapping, a plurality of abutments mounted. on said. shaft adjacentto the several wipers, a plurality of springs between said abutments andsaid wipers, means for adjusting the pressure of the individual springsseparately, and means for adjusting the angular position of saidabutments upon 105 said shaft,

21. In combination with a rotary drum, means for removing a li uid orfluid com position from the surface t iereof, said means comprising ashaft mounted parallel and ad- 110 jacent to said drum, an arm mountedon said shaft, means connected with the end of said arm for adjustablymoving it through a certain angle whereby the position'of said shaft isvaried or adjusted, a plurality of individual 115 wipers pivotallymounted on said shaft and each having an active edge trailing behindsaid. shaft against the surface of said drum, each wiper acting upon itsindividual portion of the length of said drum and said wipers 120slightly overlapping, a plurality of abutments mounted on said shaftadjacent to the several Wipers, and a plurality of springs be tween saidabutments and said wipers, and a plurality of screw-pins having flangesacting 125 as abutments for one end of said springs, said springs beingcoiled about said screwpins, and the latter being threaded into the partto which they are aflixed whereby the pressure of said springs isindividually varied. 130

22. In combination with a rotary drum, caused to move toward the centeror the means for removing a liquid or fluid cornhighest portion of saidwiper by the oblique position from the surface thereof, said meanspressure of the material behind it, and then comprisingacurved wiperpressing upon the flows down the surface of said wiper by 15 undersurface of said drum on the rising side gravity. of said surface, therising or Wiping side of In witness whereof, Ihave hereunto set my saidwiper being concave to the advancing hand this fourth day of April,1907. surface of the drum and set radially and so CHARLES P. BOSSERT. ina downwardly sloping direction, whereby In presence of said liquid orcomposition after being col- G. W. LUEBBEN, looted by the active edge ofsaid wiper is first C. MAIRD.

